We all know that lampworking isn’t for everyone, but if you dare play with fire make sure you follow these tips for using tools.
- Okay this first one is obvious, but always always always use bead release on your mandrels – if you aren’t new to lampworking, this one is super obvious, but for you newbies – glass sticks to metal and the only way to get it off is to shock it in cold water – not always safe and a little wasteful 😦 ,so never try to do any glass lampwork without it!
- When your bead is cooled and complete you can soak your mandrels in water and use a green scrubby to clean the excess bead release.
- Proper bead making technique is to heat glass in the flame while working in direct heat with the tools. If a tool is used to hold hot glass make sure it is not placed directly in the flame.
- Again, hot metal tools will stick to glass. If you are using a tool to hold glass, you want the metal warm, but not hot. It’s okay to warm a metal tool by quickly placing it near the flame.
- However, if you are using a metal tool to poke, scrape or rake the glass, the tools should be as cool as possible. If it becomes too hot, switch it with a backup tool or immerse the metal tool in water to cool it down.
- Keep a back up or two of your most used tools, it helps much more than you will know – trust me there is nothing worse than ruing a bead because you let your tool get too hot!
- Read my post on quick and simple tips to keep your sanity while lampworking – the first two tips are the most relatable – be patient and use one color of glass or tool at a time until you start to understand how each color should look and what each tool can do – don’t confuse yourself by trying to use all of your tools on the first bead
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